ClassyWas
Excellent, smart action film.
ChampDavSlim
The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Mathster
The movie runs out of plot and jokes well before the end of a two-hour running time, long for a light comedy.
mark.waltz
For somebody living topless in the African jungle, Johnny Sheffield is pretty pale. This curly haired young man is certainly no boy, having grown up on screen as the son of Tarzan. With that series over (at least in its original conception), Sheffield was contracted for a series of his own. It is an enjoyable revamp of Tarzan under a new name with a new version of Jane, played here by Academy Award winner Peggy Ann Garner who has risen from child star herself to a decent young actress, and the adventures he takes her on are very enlightening for a civilized girl who learns that her society laws and rules of survival are often ruthless and a fight against God's law.Sheffield doesn't really have to act, just pose with his muscle bound arms and beefy chest, and grunt in his character's limited English. Sheffield comes across the lost Garner and tries to help her get back to her father Onslow Stevens, who may not be as grateful as he should be, having earlier nipped Sheffield's shoulder with a bullet. Sheffield proceeds to put Garner up near his cave, and a very subtle romance begins to emerge from their initially rocky introduction. Several dangerous elements emerge including a frightening attack by locusts who are definitely more than just your every day grasshopper. Obviously made for younger audiences, this is sort of a Blue Lagoon of jungle movies, yet avoids the insinuations of anything going on other than one person helping another although a few moments drop subtle hints that add a few laughs. Stock footage of old African documentaries mixes well with the newly shot footage. Adorable monkeys of all sorts provide even more giggles, especially one chimpanzee who tries on Garner's undergarments. The story is preposterous, but it's so gently done and enjoyable. While the days of the B movie would be soon over, the remaining years would produce a few more series like this, quota quickies, yet perfect fare for the entertainment starved public.
Wizard-8
After watching this first entry in the "Bomba, the Jungle Boy" series, I am really surprised that the series lasted for an additional eleven movies. I know these movies were aimed at kids who were less sophisticated than kids today, but I'm hard pressed to figure out how kids back then were entertained by something like this. Since this is a Monogram production, the budget is really low, seemingly shot entirely on soundstages with some occasional stock footage of jungle animals and natives mixed in. Actually, I wouldn't be surprised if it were revealed that the screenwriter was shown the stock footage before starting writing, and was told to write something that would include all that stock footage. That's because there really isn't much of a story here, and the character of Bomba is weakly written. For one thing, Bomba doesn't begin interacting with the visitors to the jungle until more than a third of the movie is over! And once this point of the movie has passed, we learn next to nothing about Bomba for the rest of the movie - we learn almost nothing about his past, his opinions on things etc. I think even very young kids will be bored stiff, and viewers who originally saw the movies in theaters and feel nostalgic will be rudely surprised by this drab and boring production.
wes-connors
On safari in Africa, pretty teenager Peggy Ann Garner (as Patricia "Pat" Harland) photographs animals with father Onslow Stevens (as George). For better pictures, "glorified game warden" Charles Irwin (as Andy Barnes) and "native" Smoki Whitfield (as Eli) lead them deeper into the wild, where they meet "Teen Tarzan" Johnny Sheffield (as Bomba). The popular "Boy" from the faltering "Tarzan" movies was a natural pick for this unofficial spin-off series. While successful, it's nothing special. The first outing finds Mr. Sheffield and Ms. Garner in a tame "Tarzan and His Mate" (1934) mode. Best scene is when Garner tears her dress and Sheffield offers her his loincloth; she declines as the always-obvious stock footage inserts two chimps kissing.**** Bomba, the Jungle Boy (3/20/49) Ford Beebe ~ Johnny Sheffield, Peggy Ann Garner, Onslow Stevens, Charles Irwin
Chris Gaskin
Bomba, the Jungle Boy is the first of the Bomba movies with Johnny Sheffield (Boy from the Weismuller Tarzan movies) as Bomba.In this first movie, a safari in Africa including a girl and her dad are photographing and filming the wildlife when the girl, Pat gets lost and Bomba finds her. They become friends and he helps her to look for the rest of the party, facing several dangers along the way including lions, leopards, a huge swarm of locusts and unfriendly natives. She is reunited with the others at the end and Bobma disappears back into the jungle.Joining Johnny Sheffield in the cast is Peggy Ann Garner as Pat, Onslow Stevens (Them!) as her dad and Bomba regular Smoki Whitfield.Bomba, the Jungle Boy is worth watching if you can get hold of a copy. Rating: 3 stars out of 5.
